


tangerine skies and cherry earth

by hopskipaway



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Gen, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-08 19:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20841032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopskipaway/pseuds/hopskipaway
Summary: Survival had always been the word John Murphy lives his life by. He thought that this would have given him an advantage when the end of the world came and flipped their lives upside down.Turns out, like with most things, he was wrong.





	tangerine skies and cherry earth

**Author's Note:**

> CHOPPED: THE 100 FANFIC CHALLENGE - ROUND ONE
> 
> THEME: canon divergence
> 
> TROPE 1: someone lives  
TROPE 2: protectiveness  
TROPE 3: sunsets  
TROPE 4: a dichotomy
> 
> BONUS: platonic relationship  
BONUS: unique pairing **1st**

John Murphy did not expect the end of the world to be like this.

He’d seen the movies. There were always tsunamis cascading down upon cityscapes, leaving nothing but rubble and debris in its wake. Perhaps a rogue airborne illness that either left people falling dead, or more interestingly, had the dead rising up. Maybe if you are lucky, there would even be an alien invasion full of ruthless beasts with no other mission than to seek and destroy the human race.

Those situations, Murphy could have worked with.

Those situations, all you had to do was keep your head down and survive. There would be nobody to worry about but yourself and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

Keeping your head down and surviving was one thing John Murphy knew all about.

Bullies at school would eventually get bored if you didn’t give them a reaction. His mother would eventually fall into a drunken sleep if he stayed quiet enough. Older kids in the skybox respect you more if you kept your mouth shut and let them get what little enjoyment out of the last years of their lives as they could. The grounders would let you go, albeit brimming with weaponized disease, if you told them just enough to save your own skin.

However, as fate would have it, none of this life experience would help him in the beginning of the end.

Stuck in a lab with no other choice than to try and find a cure to survive the wave of death that was rapidly approaching, Murphy found himself feeling rather useless. Surprisingly (or not), as a child of the Skybox, he never was educated enough to figure out how to take normal red blood and somehow turn it inky black.

When it came down to Emori playing off the man from the mansion as a big bad grounder ready to fry, he couldn’t say he would have done any different. That was the thing about him and Emori; they got each other, especially when no one else in the world was willing to. Then, like usual, the universe decided he was not allowed to feel relief for very long.

With a gun to his head, his wrists bound to a chain, and his girlfriend almost in an oven, Murphy was well and truly over the world. Maybe a fiery death wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to the human race. If no one was left on this Earth, no one would be there to show how little they cared for him.

So, when he found himself sitting alone on the beach, contemplating his soon to be over short life and all its misery and a flash of red hair and a thud of a body hid the ground next to him, Murphy was surprised.

“You aren’t going to go all philological on me, are you?”

A hum sounded, “I believe the term you are thinking of is ‘psychological’, actually.”

“What did I just say?” Murphy said, perhaps a bit too harshly. “Look, I don’t know you, you don’t know me. I don’t think we have much time for niceties considering the state of the world. So, let’s just sit here and wait to die, sound good?”

Luna raised her hands in surrender. Looking out over the water with that ever-wise and peaceful expression gracing her face. Murphy also tried to relax, but he felt like his shoulders were made of concrete and wouldn’t move from their hunched position even if he tried.

He quickly gave up and let out a deep sigh. “Fine. Talk.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know," he drawled, "Not a lot of excitement these days I guess, huh?”

Luna let out a soft breathy laugh, but said nothing. The sun was steadily falling from the sky, and Luna turned to watch.

“What I want to know is why you are just letting them make you their little lab rat. It would be a lot easier to just save your own skin.”

“Is that what you would have done?”

“Hell yeah I would have. They were willing to kill my girlfriend. None of them care about me, why should I care about them?”

“That’s a very pessimistic way of looking at the world, don’t you think John?

Murphy’s nose scrunched up at the use of his first name, but let it slide. No sense letting things like that bother him now

“I think it’s realistic. No one looks out for anyone but themselves. It’s just the way the world works, no matter how much you try and sugar coat it.”

Luna let that statement sit in the air for a beat and watched as the sun turned into a peachy glow. From the corner of her eye, she could see Murphy too was intensely enjoying the sunset. He even went as far as to let a small content smile cross his face, if only for a second.

Luna cleared her throat and caught his attention

“You know, I’m not sure someone who notices beauty as much as you do could really hate everything as much as they let on to. I know that better than anyone. No matter how hard I try to make myself be miserable about life, I find myself wanting to enjoy it. I think it's a very human thing.”

“My parents died. I was stuck in jail. My friends turned on me. I was tortured. I almost starved to death. I had to… deal with Ontari. The only ones who remotely consider me their people would turn on me at the drop of a hat. I don’t think that just because I find a sunset pretty, that makes the world a magical place.”

She made a noncommittal noise. “I’m still not convinced. I think there is more to the story of John Murphy than one might think.”

* * *

So maybe Luna was right, but Murphy would never admit it.

He could never quite make out what the world was like. It was easy to make it seem like everyone in the world was bad in nature. But then things happen. Things like finding Emori, a kindred spirit he never knew he could have. Things like Bellamy saving him in that elevator, putting their harsh past behind them to look out for one another. Perhaps moments like that are diamonds in the rough in the otherwise dirt filled life he was living. But perhaps he was wrong about everything and people really were good deep in their souls.

Most likely though, the inner thoughts would have to wait, as he and nine other complex, confusing, infuriating humans were prepping to shoot off into space.

As with most plans, things had gone to shit. Clarke didn’t make it back in time, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or more specifically, a burning planet and a questionably habitable space station. No matter what they had been through, Clarke had always tried her best to do right by people. Even if sometimes those people couldn't include everyone. It made him feel a sense of inner anguish that he didn't know he could feel for the girl. 

They prepared themselves for liftoff, and Murphy noted the apprehension in Emori’s face and squeezed her hand. As he looked away from her, he saw Luna’s knowing face. She gave a small smile, and Murphy had a feeling that if they survived the landing, he would be getting a lot of deep talks from the red haired girl. Somehow she had managed to corner him once more on the small island, and five years in space would probably only increase the chances of that happening again. He couldn’t wait.

* * *

_3 years later_

It was a quiet morning on the Ring. Harper set her bowl down and fixed her gaze on Murphy, who was currently doing little eating.

“Busy day ahead of us today,” she announced, “Murphy. How does latrine duty sound? I know you’ve skipped out on chores lately...”

“Uh. Yeah, I can try.” He said in a quiet and distant voice, sounding almost as if he wasn’t quite conscious, all the while never raising his eyes from the table. The unspoken elephant in the room was evident. In private, the rest of the inhabitants dubbed times like these Murphy’s _ Rough Periods_.

“Really, you will _ try _?” Emori scoffed. “It’s not that hard. Honestly, John.”

The tension in the room grew more and more dense, like a thick fog. Monty shifted awkwardly, Bellamy tried to clear his throat, Echo looked as if she wanted to disappear. 

“I’ll do it, 'Mori” He croaked out, coming back to reality, trying to give the girl a weak smile. The effort proved futile when the thinly concealed pity and disdain showed on a majority of their faces. Murphy quickly excused himself, mumbling out a garbled reason.

The room had returned to an uncomfortable silence until Luna stood up and made her way to follow the man. Though suddenly, she turned on her heels to look at the others, heels squeaking loudly in the quiet.

“I am ashamed of you all. Is this how you treat a friend? Is this how you treat our family? All we have is each other. He needs you. Don’t pretend you don’t notice that he does.” She nearly hissed out, emotion overtaking her. “We all know by now he won’t come to us and ask for help, even when he needs it. I’m sick of being the only one to show an ounce of understanding. Be better.”

A flurry of red hair stormed out of the room, knowing just where to find the troubled man.

She found him in the usual place, and she plopped down next to him at the window. No words were spoken, but the pair accommodated one another with ease and familiarity. Murphy’s arm came up around Luna and in turn her head came to rest on his shoulder. They let their eyes wander over the still burning, deep red Earth. Such a contrast between the soft sunsets they used to enjoy, but still beautiful in its own bittersweet way.

"You know you don't have to be perfect, right? You are struggling, but even still you are trying. We all see that, I promise, even if the rest can be bull headed about it."

"It's just so hard up here. All the memories, all the fucking silence. I used to think Earth was bad because I had no time to think. Now that’s all I can do and it never ends. I mean, you know about my nightmares but it feels like they last all day lately. I just want it all to fucking stop. I just want-“

"Shh, I get it John." Hands find themselves intertwined.

Silence, despite a few wayward sniffles enveloped the pair. A gentle hand reached up to wipe the tear streaked cheek. Something that would be so hard for him to show to anyone, came so naturally with her. If he and Emori were kindred spirits, he didn’t know what to call him and Luna. She didn’t just understand him, she pushed him to be better. Most days, he felt a far cry from the sullen boy who left Earth, though other days he still felt like a balloon close to being overfilled. He’d never had a friend like her, someone he could just… _ deflate _ around.

“Do you think-“ Murphy cut himself off with a shake of his head. 

Luna turned to face him, “Don’t tell me you are going to get all physiological on me now. I thought leading our therapy sessions was my responsibility.”

Soft, bittersweet laughter broke the bubble of the serious atmosphere they found themselves in; but still Murphy steeled himself.

“Do you think when we get back to Earth, we can be different? That we could be good? I mean, really good. Not just the bullshit we’ve been telling ourselves.”

“Oh John... I think we can be whatever we want to be. Even now.”

John Murphy did not expect the end of the world would be like this. But can't complain.

* * *

A squeezed hand.

“That is so lame.”

A gentle shove.

“I love you too, John.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was so rushed you are so brave for reading.
> 
> come contemplate life with me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/hopskipaway) or [tumblr](https://hopskipaway.tumblr.com/).


End file.
